Abstract

The spectral properties of outdoor illumination functions can vary significantly, owing to atmospheric conditions and scene geometry. Using a statistical analysis of a comprehensive physical model, we show that the variation in outdoor illumination functions over both the visible range (0.33–0.7 µm) and the visible/near-infrared range (0.4–2.5 µm) can be represented accurately by use of seven-dimensional linear models. The physical model includes solar and scattered radiation as well as the effects of atmospheric gases and aerosols. The modtran 3.5 code was employed for computing radiative transfer aspects of the model. We show that the new model has strong agreement over the visible wavelengths with the empirical study of Judd et al. [J. Opt. Soc. Am. 54, 1031 (1964)]. We also demonstrate the accuracy of the model over the 0.4–2.5-µm spectral range, using measured outdoor illumination functions.

References

You do not have subscription access to this journal. Citation lists with outbound citation links are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an OSA member, or as an authorized user of your institution.